Lighter



LIGHTER 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Feb. l, 1947 Fiel.

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Feb. M, E950 c. H. H. RODANET LIGHTER` 2 Sheets-Shea?, 2

Filed Feb. l, 1947 Patented Feb. 14, 1950 FTI CE iApplication" February.1, 1947,3Seria1 No. 7 2521.82 '..InTrance YlFebruary/l,` 194 6(Claim-+31) "41Claims.

"Thepresent inventionrelates'to'pocket lighters for smokers; it"comprises various improvements to 'such devices vwith-a view to, inparticular, making them -simpler and'cheaper in construction,facilitating'disassembly'thereof `and making them"m`oreconvenient'andreliable in use.

One ofsaid improvements concerns the v'mounting `ofthecap;thehingeor'which'it is` difficult to provide with the desired"strength, 'especially whenthecasin'g of the lighterismade of aluminumor'alighteweiglit alloy. 'The main objectv of the Upresent invention is"to provide 'a lighter of the character described 'wherein the'cover isnot directly "hinged to the casing, butis resiliently articulated withA.the container of the lighter through the lmediurnf a resilient striptted in the cap and pivoted upon `a rigid 'blocksecured to thecontainer.

Another object of the'invention is 'to 'provide a 'lighter of thecharacter 'described wherein therigid Vblock contains .aspring adaptedto urge thefiiing in `a horizontal direction'an'd. provided with.allatchthrough whichit is possible tofree theintfrom'the action of`saidspring'for'the purpose of .replacing the yflint.

'Alfurthenobject of the invention isto provide, in..a'.li'g`hter.of.thecharacter described, a .thumb wheel rigid with a pair of flint wheelssymmetrically disposedat Vbothends thereof, sothat'by reversing .the.assembly lformed by lthe lthumb wheel-andlthe'flint.wheels ontheircommon spindle,A it.is...possible.to replacethefilint wheel in use.

The ensuing descriptionmade with 1reference to rtheappended drawings.givenI by way ofA illustration and not of limitation willclearly showhow the; inventionmay be performed.

...'In the drawings:

.'F-ig. 1.is a. generallongitudinal sectionof'the lighter, .made-.onlineI--I o'f'Fig. 2,5the .cover being opened.

d`1.'ig...2..is aplan viewcorresponding-to`Fig.`1, the coverlbeingsupposed to be removed.

"Fig-"Sis a section through the cover and they cover-plate, made onlineIII-"III of Fig. 2.

"Fig."5 shows the coverinplan'view as seen from'below.

Figs. 6 and 7. illustrate thellighter in outer'elev-ation and side'view.'respectively.

fIhecasin'g' I 'of the lighter, Whi-chisimadeiof i aluminum vandv isA ofparalleler'nipedic shape, contains' a liquid container 2`of`simi-1arlshape butthe lateralside wall of whichf isformed "with acconca-veindentation KV'3 to accommodate fa lute'd thumbewheel *2 I "whichfisdisposed inca'manner 1"* knownfp'er sefalong one of the vertical edgesof said-casing1fsuitablyrecessed to that end. "In the bottomof-thecontainer'2there is soldered a plug-bushing 5 and a pair of tappedplugs f6 engagedbyscrews 'I Yto-rigidly connect thecontainer-Ziwith'theeasing I. Within the'bushingfS .the usualiil'lingplug 8 is threadedly engaged and provided conventionally with acontainer!! designed'to accommodate va spare flint `Onftlieuprier faceof the container 2 there is secured -a rigid'olo'ek Ill of `mouldedaluminum provided with two horizontal channels Il andf'l'2 formed l*bycasting and sealed by a'thin metal plate I'3 'forming a bridge andsecured to said block I-IJ `Aby screws. Within the channel vII a. smallplunger vI'4` is `slidable and-is subjected 'to thea-ation of .acoilspring I5 housed in saidcham nel II yarrdcwhich,#surrounds the shankI6 of the plunger. Said plunger constantly urges the'ilint IYI infthel"channel II against the iiint wheel I 8 which *is 4mounted in Hthefollowing way:

A vertical spindle ISY'eXtends at its upper-end thro-ughfa hole'formedin said bridge I3 and is maintainedbetweenthe'casing I and the sideewallBof thefcontainerf'Z by a shaped'plate 2!) (-Fig.l) engaging =afserratedkportion of the spindle 5I9. On said spindleiisfreely rotatable,between" the bridge I3 andthe 'plate 20, an assembly formedby-:a'ithumb'wheel-'I and two flint wheels I8 and Iajthe ends'of whichadjacent to said thumb Whel'fare-fslightly'reduced diameter for forciblyengaging-recesses 22 and 22a formed in' said thumb wheel 2|fwhereby'said viiint wheels are rigid ltherewith fand 'symmetrically"disposed at eachf'erd'thereof. Acoil spring 23 surrounding the; spindleI El;y between i the bottom Awall of "the casingl fandthefshapedfplatefz, constantly urges the iatirupperf'face' of v` thelflint wheel IIlv against theubr'dgef I'3Ito `prevent the'fiint I'Iffrom being en'gaged'on'a*fraction only of its'sectional area. The 1assembly "formed by the thumb-*wheel and the? iiint=wheels so-arrangedis reversible to allow of replacing the flint wheel I8'in use 'by theintwheel f' I8a acting as Ya spare "flint wheel.

Upon the plunger ld'there is 'threadedlyattached a'-Lknob'24 'projectingupwardly'through anr'apeitureiz of f-thebridge I3. Said apertureisf-formedfso `as 'to'include a notch 25' in v`which theknobiizd mayibeengaged after'having been pushed ''baek whilefcompressing the springvliti. Said notch serves 'l as a latching stop `for the knob to 7freesthe 'int 'from the action ofthe spring* fil andfIa-llow the flint to'be -eas'ilyejected" and replaced.

t"The cap 21 isnot hinged ldirectlyf to the casing.

3 The block I has a vertical channel 28 through which extends a pivotalpin 29 about which a resilient strip 30 made of spring steel ispivotable through two integral laterally extending lugs 3|, Which passthrough an aperture in the bridge I3. Said spring plate 30 is retainedin engagement against the top of the cover 21 by a transverselyextending locking plate member 32, iitted within said cap as indicatedhereinafter. The connection between actuating resilient strip 30 andlocking plate 32 is effected by means of a shouldered centering pin 33integral with a central washer The upper shank 52 of said pin iscentered into a recess hole formed in the top of the cap 21 and itslower shank 53 into a hole formed in said locking plate 32, while thecentral washer 5| is interposed between said plate and said strip.Further, the actuating resilient strip 30 is maintained in correctangular position by means of a second shouldered pin 48 integral with aterminal washer 54 bearing under said strip and the shank of which isforced into a recess hole formed in the top of the cap 21.

The locking plate 32 made of spring steel engages a pair of grooves 34formed in bosses 34a of the lateral walls of the cap. Between said plateand the washer 5| of pin 33 there is inserted another plate of springsteel 35 which is prevented from being rotated because it engages theinterior of .the cap throughout its periphery with the exception of atongue 35a separated from the rest of the plate by a slot 49 and withthe exception of the part recessed for the passage of the lugs 3|; inorder to conform to the bosses 34a, said plate is provided with twolateral notches each having two corners 50 bent downwards and blockingthe locking plate 32 in position.

To the free end of the tongue 35a there is riveted a snuifer 38 whichthus is resiliently applied against the wick-holder 39.

The wick-holder 39 is soldered to the plate forming the upper wall ofthe container 2, and so are the sockets 4B for the pins of the block I0.The upper and lower walls of the container 2 are soldered to theside-wall thereof.

The lugs 3| of the actuating strip 30, aside from the pivotal pin 29,further carry a second spindle 4| which serves to pivot a link 42terminating in a ball 43. The ball cooperates with a socket formed as aportion of -a sphere in a plunger 44 slidable in the channel 2. A coilspring 45 located in said channel around the shank 46 of the linkplunger 44 constantly tends to retain the cap in the position occupiedby the link plunger, either opened or closed, and during closure itinsures that said closure is effected thoroughly, preventing it fromremaining in any intermediate position. To allow for the resilientpivotal movements of the cap, the edge 41 of the casing is bevelled aswell as the corresponding edge of said cap.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A lighter comprising, in combination, a casingI made of a materialhaving a relatively thin cross-section, a liquid container in saidcasing rigid therewith, a wick extending through said container, a flintwheel adjacent said wick, a flint bearing on said int wheel, means forrotating said flint wheel, means for applying said flint against saidflint Wheel, a block having a substantially greater thickness than thecasing flxedly mounted on said container, a cap made of a materialhaving a thickness of the same order as the casing, a resilient striplocated in said cap for actuating the same, a resilient transverselocking plate resiliently tted in the lateral walls of said cap formaintaining said strip against the top of the cap, means for centeringsimultaneously said strip and said locking plate with respect to saidcap, means for maintaining said strip correctly angularly positionedwith re spect to said cap, means for pivoting said resilient strip tosaid block so that said cap is not directly hinged to said casingwhereby the strength of the so formed hinge is independent from thelightness of said casing and cap, and means for simultaneously retainingsaid cap in the position occupied by said latter, either opened orclosed, and for ensuring simultaneously that the closure is effectedthoroughly.

2. A lighter comprising, in combination, a casing made of a materialhaving a relatively thin cross-section, a liquid container in saidcasing rigid therewith, a wick extending through said container, a flintwheel adjacent said wick, a flint bearing on said int wheel, means forrotating said flint wheel, means for applying said int against said intwheel, a block having a substantially greater thickness than the casingfixedly mounted on said container and formed with a vertical channel, acap made of a material havinga thickness of the same order as thecasing, a resilient strip located in said cap for actuating the same,said strip being formed with a pair of downwardly directed lugspositioned within said vertical channel and contacting the lateral wallsof said channel, a resilient transverse locking plate resiliently ttedin the lateral walls of said cap for maintaining said strip against thetop of the cap, means for centering simultaneously said strip and saidlocking plate with respect to said cap, means for maintaining said stripcorrectly angularly positioned with respect to said cap, a pivoting pinfor connecting said lugs with said lateral walls so that said cap is notdirectly hinged to said casing whereby the strength of the so formedhinge is independent from the lightness of said casing 4and cap, andmeans for simultaneously retaining said cap in the position occupied bysaid latter, either opened or closed, and for ensuring simultaneouslyvthat the closure is eilected thoroughly.

3. A lighter comprising, in combination, a casing, a liquid container insaid casing rigid therewith, a wick extending through said container, a.

flint wheel adjacent said wick, means for rotating ysaid flint wheel, ablock iixedly mounted on said container and formed with a horizontalchannel opening upwardly and adjacent said flint wheel, in said channela fiint bearing on said flint wheel, a spring. for applying- Said iiintagainst said flint wheel, and a plunger interposed between said flintand said spring, a plate forming a brid-ge over said block for sealingsaid channel and formed above said channel with an aperture whichincludes a notch, a knob attached to said plunger for cooperating withsaid notch when said plunger is retracted, lwhereby said flint is freedfrom the action of said spring in order to be replaced.

4. A lighter comprising, in combination, a casing formed with a verticalslot opening upwardly and extending on a part of the height thereof, aliquid container in said casing rigid therewith and formed on its totalheight with a concave recess facing said slot, a wick extending throughsaid container, a block xedly mounted on said 5 container' and formedwith a horizontal channel opening upwardly and on the lateral wall ofsaid block facing said wick, in said channel a spring biassed flintadapted to be pushed towards said lateral Wall, a spindle located withinthe housing formed by said container recess and said casing, abridge-forming plate servingto journal said spindle, a small platemounted between said casing and said container in said housing forforming the opposite journal for said spindle, a thumb wheel| two flintwheels rigid with said thumb wheel and symmetrically disposed at eachend thereof, the assembly formed by said thumb Wheel and said int wheelsbeing freely rotatably and removably mounted on said spindle, wherebysaid assembly is reversible to allow of replacing the int wheel in use,and a spring for constantly applying the flat upper end of the int wheelsituated above the thumb wheel against said bridge forming plate.

CHARLES HILAIRE HENRI RODANET.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

5 UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,847,791 Steinfeld Mar. 1,1932 2,102,108 Bolle Dec 14, 1937 10 2,192,364 Nyden Mar. 5, 19402,419,889 Florman Apr, 29, 1947 2,437,354 Gostkowski Mar, 9, 1948FOREIGN PATENTS 15 Number Country Date 184,944 Switzerland June 30, 1936453,757 Great Britain Sept. 17, 1936 879,966 France Dec. l0, 1942888,068 France Aug. 30, 1943

